Council delays approving funding for Memphis City Schools

Education panel draws blast from Cash

Three weeks before school begins, the City Council education committee Tuesday delayed approving the $875 million city schools' budget, saying the figures and the way the math was done pose too many questions.

MCS Supt. Kriner Cash was visibly angered by what he considered a last-minute effort to undermine district planning and solvency.

"With all due respect, I need to be very clear. We had a meeting several weeks ago in this same chamber. We submitted all this information. These issues could have been resolved in the interim. We start school in less than three weeks," he said. "No one called us. We didn't get one question."

According to city calculations, its share of school funding is $71 million, but the school board says the number is $84.7 million.

In calculating the local contribution, the city used a worksheet from the state that did not include revenue from liquor sold by the drink. The city also did not reduce proceeds from local sales tax; the school district is assuming a 6 percent drop in sales tax revenue.

Committee chairwoman Janis Fullilove said the results differed enough that the committee needed a two-week delay "to iron things out, to tweak these things out ... so we can get the money to you guys that you deserve for our children."

In the bill city taxpayers received in July, the rate is set at 0.18 cents per $100 of valuation, which will raise about $19 million for the city schools.

Along with other sources of income, the city has pledged $27 million to the schools for the coming year.

"What is going to take place in this two-week period to get these issues resolved," asked councilwoman Barbara Swearengen Ware. "I want to be definitive about this. I don't want anyone to leave with question marks."

The council may elect to send a second tax bill or pay the difference from its reserves, said councilman Shea Flinn.

"This is not holding anything up; it's continuing the process. ... We're trying to make sure we're not just throwing money at this. We are being good public stewards of the public dollars. ... That is our responsibility as the council," Flinn said.

The education committee met with district officials two weeks ago, delaying action until Tuesday to get more detail on how it would be affected if the county became the single source of tax revenue for education.

School officials came to the meeting Tuesday expecting committee approval and a vote later in the day by the full council.

"We don't sit around and calculate in a cubbyhole," Cash said. "The final numbers were sent to the City Council and (State Finance Officer Wesley) Robertson.

"All we know is that we have a domino effect of our funding -- state, federal, stimulus dollars and other things we are trying to get accomplished if we don't get this resolved."

The district is one of 10 semifinalists in the running for a $500 million grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to be divided among four to six districts. The winners will be announced in August.

"They look at local education funding and support over time to see, 'Yes, you're invested in children. We want to help you. We want to invest in your children, too. We think we can lift this great city,'" Cash said.

Representatives from the Gates Foundation are in Memphis today, visiting schools, Cash said.